Agricultural officials have warned farmers to use water sparingly in the first three months of the year despite few indications of possible drought later in the year. The overwhelming attention to weather and its continued impact on agriculture would

Sometimes saying the obvious is important, though in this instance having to say it in the 21st Century is disheartening. Even after decades of having 5% or less participation of women across parliament and other bodies, the progressive step to intro

Sri Lanka has a job problem. The latest Labour Demand Survey for 2017 done by the Census and Statistics Department showed that there are nearly half a million vacancies in the private sector. Given that Sri Lanka’s unemployment level remains around

This week brought disappointing news for wildlife enthusiasts after the Government reversed a previous decision to restrict jeeps into Yala and increased them to 600 per day. The move, which happened after much lobbying with an appeal from Fisheries

A recent report by the Immigration and Emigration Department showed that an estimated 25,000 foreigners work in Sri Lanka. Despite high levels of literacy, Sri Lanka has been challenged by low skills, a brain drain and chronic labour shortages. It is

The five-member presidential anti-corruption commission is to hand over its final report on large-scale corruption, fraud and abuse of power and State funds to President Maithripala Sirisena this week.

Once the festivities of the New Year are completed the Government, officials and politicians will have to roll up their sleeves and get down to the many tasks at hand. The ambitious Budget presented and approved in 2017, which will need to be rolled

Even though 2018 dawned with a holiday the next 12 months are likely to be anything but relaxed. The year opens with political parties readying for elections and the political fallout from people’s expectations as well as the continuing challenges

How is Sri Lanka doing in its quest for IT literacy? The Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) in its latest survey on IT literacy conducted during the first six months of 2017 has said that Sri Lanka’s rate is about 38%, which is largely in li

The Government has embarked on a project to make the nearest school the best school to provide every child with quality education and to reduce competition to get into elite schools in Colombo and other urban areas. However, major resource constraint

The festive season is a brief respite from the daily problems that plague Sri Lanka and filter down to individual lives. Strikes, which are often enthusiastically held in Sri Lanka, reached a 10-year high last year, data by the Central Bank revealed

Christmas is a universal holiday, enthusiastically embraced by all Sri Lankans. Many in the capital have been busy for weeks, sometimes even months, getting ready the decorations and festivities to mark the season. In many ways the adoption of Christ

The Megapolis and Western Development Ministry has decided to prohibit begging from 1 January 2018. The plan, as far as plans go in Sri Lanka, is to round up beggars and rehabilitate them in a new facility built at a cost of Rs. 80 million. But in it

Health Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne has a new quest these days. He has declared war on an estimated 30,000 quacks purported to be working in Sri Lanka and wants them all drummed out of the system. However, the existence of these fake doctors indica

Sri Lanka’s regulated privately-owned bus service has declined 2% to 19,917 vehicles in the first half of 2017 from a year earlier, according to an official report released recently which suggested that the way people get from one place to another

The US’s top media regulator voted to end rules protecting an open internet this week, in a move critics warn will hand control of the future of the web to cable and telecoms companies. The fiercely-contested decision was barely announced before se

Holidays are made on the internet. It is now standard practice for people to use online information, experience sharing and evaluations to decide where they want to travel and shape their decision making

Budget 2018 has been passed with a two-thirds majority, giving it a stamp of approval that is reflected by the private sector. Now the Finance Ministry, together with the rest of the Government, has the massive challenge of implementing the Budget, w

The Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) in its latest survey on IT literacy conducted during the first six months of 2017 has said that Sri Lanka’s rate is about 38%, which is largely in line with the developing country average.

Sri Lanka, which exports a significant amount of its apparel to the UK, should be keeping a close eye on the latest breakthrough in Brexit talks and move early to secure its trade interests both in the UK and within the European Union (EU).
The UK

FT Quick Guide

Today's Columnists

Popular film actor-politician Vijaya Kumaratunga was shot dead in cold blood on 16 February 1988. He was standing near the front gate of his Kirulapone residence on Polhengoda road and talking to an acquaintance when the assailants travelling in a tw

When Asma Jahangir, the Pakistani human rights campaigner who single handedly took on the civil, military, and religious establishment in her country, died in Lahore on 11 February, she had spent 48 of her 66 years in the war against injustice.